Government today said that for the first time Indian Railways has loaded special Parcel train beyond the country borders to Benapole in Bangladesh with dry chillies from Andhra Pradesh.
Guntur and its surrounding areas in Andhra Pradesh are well known for chilli cultivation. The quality of this farm produce is internationally renowned for its uniqueness in taste and brand. Railway Ministry said, earlier, the farmers and merchants in and around Guntur area have been transporting dry chillies by road to Bangladesh in small quantities and that was costing around Rs 7,000 per tonne.
During the lockdown period, they could not move this essential commodity by road. The Ministry said, the cost per tonne for carrying by Special Parcel Express is only Rs 4,608, which is very cheap and economical as compared to road transport.
This has helped the farmers and merchants of Guntur to market their farm produce beyond the country border by transporting the dry chillies in small quantities through Special Parcel Express.
The Ministry said, Railways has taken a series of steps to boost parcel train traffic during the Covid period. The parcel train transported essential items like medical supplies, medical equipment and food in small parcel sizes. Railways has been running time-tabled Parcel Special trains on select routes, to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential items. 4,434 parcel trains have been run during the lockdown period.
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